Cash Crops in India Notes with PDF

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Cotton

Climatic & Soil Requirements

• Nature: Subtropical crop.
• Temperature: Requires at least 210 frost-free days; a hard frost is injurious.
• Rainfall: Needs 50-100 cm of rainfall for growth.
• Sunlight: Requires lots of sunshine.
• Soil: Ideally suited for light, well-drained soil capable of retaining moisture (e.g., black soil of the Deccan Plateau).

Production & Areas

• Origin: India is the original home of the cotton plant (mentioned in Rigveda and Manusmriti).
• Innovation: India was the first country to develop a hybrid cotton variety for increased production.
• Historical Context: Historically, the largest production came from North Western and Western India.
• Major Producing States: Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Telangana.
• Current Leader (2020-21): Gujarat is the largest producer.
• Significance in Maharashtra: In Maharashtra, cotton is the crop covering the largest area.

Terminology and Uses

• Nickname: Known as “White Gold” in Maharashtra. The districts of Ujjain and Shajapur in MP are also known as areas of “White Gold”.
• Plant Part Used: Cotton fibre is obtained from the seed of the plant.
• Classification: It is classified as a fibre crop (along with Jute and Sunhemp).
• Competition: In Maharashtra’s black soil region, cotton faces competition from sugarcane due to irrigation expansion making sugarcane more profitable.

Industry

• Mill Concentration: Tamil Nadu has the largest number of cotton textile mills in India.
• State with Most Mills: Among the options given, Maharashtra has the most mills.

Sugarcane

Climatic & Soil Requirements

• Climate: Requires a warm and damp (humid) climate.
• Temperature: Ideal temperature range is 21°C to 27°C.
• Rainfall: Requires 75-100 cm of annual rainfall.
• Frost: Frost during the ripening period decreases the sucrose content.

Production & Areas

• Area Under Cultivation: The state with the largest area under sugarcane cultivation is Uttar Pradesh.
• Largest Producer: The largest sugarcane-producing state is Uttar Pradesh (surpassing Maharashtra).
• Other Major Producers: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Bihar.
• Irrigation: It has the highest percentage of irrigated area (over 93%) among major crops.

By-products and Processing

• Molasses: A by-product of sugar production, used for making alcohol.
• Bagasse: The crushed cane residue used as fuel in sugar mill boilers to generate steam.
• Sources: Sugar can be produced from both sugarcane and sugar beet.

Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI)

• Purpose: A practical approach to reduce seed cost and use resources more efficiently.
• Benefits:
  • Allows for effective practice of drip irrigation.
  • Increases the scope for intercropping.
• Note: It does not imply the complete absence of chemical/inorganic fertilizers.

Other Fibre Crops (For Comparison)

Jute

• Temperature: Requires temperatures between 24°C to 35°C.
• Rainfall: Needs heavy rainfall (125-200 cm).
• Topography: Grown in low-lying areas.

Sunhemp

• Classification: A fibre crop.
• History: One of the oldest fibre crops, cultivated since 600 B.C.

Sugar Industry in India: Key Facts

Global Standing

• India is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane.
• India is the world’s largest consumer of sugar.
• India contributes over 15% to the total global sugar production.
• After Brazil, India is the second-largest producer of sugar globally.
• The sugar industry is the second-largest agro-based industry in India (after cotton).

Major Producing States

• Top States: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
• Historical Ranking (2015-16): Descending order: Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.
• Recent Ranking (2020-21): Uttar Pradesh leads, followed by Maharashtra.
• Nicknames: Uttar Pradesh is known as the “Sugar Bowl of India”.
• Important Centers: Sakkar Nagar is a major sugar-producing center in Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana).

History and Location

• First Mill: The first sugar mill in India was established in 1903 at Pratappur in the Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh.
• Locational Shift: There has been a shift of the sugar industry from North India to South India.
• Reasons for Shift to South India:
  • Higher yield of sugarcane per acre.
  • Higher sucrose content in sugarcane.
  • Longer crushing season.

Research and Varieties

• Premier Institute: The Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) in Coimbatore is the premier institute for sugarcane research and seed production (established in 1912).
• Important Variety: Co. 1148 is an important and significant variety of sugarcane.
• Adsali Sugarcane:
  • Primarily cultivated in low-rainfall areas of Maharashtra.
  • It has a long maturation period of 18 months (planted in July-August).

Crop Characteristics

• Sugarcane is considered a water-intensive crop.
• It is the least water-efficient compared to crops like sunflower, pearl millet, and red gram.

Oilseeds: Facts & Figures

Major Oilseed Crops in India

• Primary Crops: Groundnut, Mustard, Coconut, Soybean, Castor seeds, Cotton seeds, Linseed, and Sunflower.
• Specific Crops:
  • Sunflower is a recognized oilseed crop.
  • Groundnut is the most suitable crop for dryland farming (relies on rainwater).
  • Safflower (scientific name: Carthamus tinctorius) is primarily grown in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Production & Leading States

• Record Production: India achieved a record production of 36.1 million tonnes of oilseeds in 2020-21.
• State-wise Leaders:
  • Soybean: Madhya Pradesh is the leading producer and has the largest area under cultivation.
  • Groundnut: Gujarat is the largest producer.
  • Rapeseed and Mustard: Rajasthan is the largest producer and a leading producer of oilseeds overall.
  • High Yield States (Groundnut): Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Rajasthan have high groundnut yield per hectare.

The Yellow Revolution

• The Yellow Revolution is related to the increased production of Oilseeds.
• Distinction from other revolutions:
  • Green Revolution: Foodgrains
  • White Revolution: Milk
  • Blue Revolution: Fish

Specific Crop Characteristics

• Groundnut:
  • Process: Undergoes “Pegging” where a fertilized peg grows into the ground.
  • Nutrient: Requires a large quantity of Gypsum.
  • Variety: An improved variety is called ‘Kaushal’.
• Mustard:
  • Popular varieties include ‘Varuna’, ‘Pusa Bold’, and ‘Pitambari’.
• Oil Content Comparison:
  • Sesame: ~52% (highest)
  • Groundnut: ~48%
  • Sunflower: ~42%
  • Soybean: ~40%

Classification & Oddities

• Non-Cooking Oil: Castor seed oil is not used for cooking, unlike oils from Sesame, Groundnut, and Mustard.
• Plant Part: Groundnut is a root crop, while others like Sesame and Mustard are flower-based.

Silk Production in India

Production by State (2019-20 Data)

• Largest Producer Overall: Karnataka is the largest silk-producing state in India.
  • It is the biggest producer of mulberry silk, accounting for 44.1% of India’s total production.
  • Contributes 31.1% of the national production of raw silk.
• Second-Largest Producer: Andhra Pradesh, contributing 22.2% to national raw silk production.

Silk Varieties and Their Leading Producers

• Mulberry Silk: Karnataka is the largest producer of both raw silk and silk textiles.
• Tasar Silk:
  • Largest Producer: Jharkhand.
  • Tropical Tasar: Primarily produced in Jharkhand.
  • Oak Tasar: Primarily produced in Manipur.
• Eri Silk: Assam is the largest producer (Meghalaya is also significant).
• Muga Silk:
  • A rare variety obtained only from India.
  • Assam is the leading producer, accounting for over 82% of the production (Meghalaya is also a producer).

Types and Sources of Silk

• General Classification: The main silk varieties in India are: Mulberry, Tasar, Eri, and Muga.
• Tussar Silk: A type of wild silk from the moth Antheraea Paphia.
• Specialized Types:
  • Gossamer Silk: The delicate silk produced by spiders, used by spiderlings for flying.
  • Ahimsa Silk (Peace Silk): Produced without killing the silkworm.

Products from Insects

• Silk: Obtained from silkworms.
• Honey: Obtained from honeybees.
• Lac: Obtained from lac insects.
• Pearl: NOT obtained from insects; it is produced by mollusks.

Know More About Cash Crops in India:

• Cash Crops in India – Old Year Questions
• Cash Crops in India One Liner Questions & Answers